


Sickness

by Little_Wintry



Category: Destiny (Video Games)
Genre: Gen, Io Destiny, Mentions of Blood, The Pyramids (Destiny) - Freeform, fillerrrrrr, mostly Zelun coughing up blood, tl;dr i forgot to post
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-26
Updated: 2020-07-26
Packaged: 2021-03-06 04:35:06
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 868
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25527532
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Little_Wintry/pseuds/Little_Wintry
Summary: Despite the fact she's handling the Pyramid crisis well mentally, Zelun's physical state is a different matter entirely.





	Sickness

**Author's Note:**

> I'm ever so slowly getting back into Destiny, so I'm gonna try to post a *little* bit more often. This is mostly just a quick warm-up scene, it's barely edited, and it's my way of dipping my toe back into some fanfic. Remember to leave kudos and comments, and enjoy ;)
> 
> Stay safe,
> 
> Wintry

Virgo had realized something was wrong the moment they touched down.

She had talked to Ikora, Petra, and Pirul, piecing together every bit about how to tell Zelun was beginning to wear down. Some part of her realized, that day after Zelun had been taken, that Zelun was just another Guardian.

She could die her final death.

And for some reason, that terrified Virgo.

So she kept vigilant. She kept her watch. She encouraged Zelun to rest when she could, and Zelun seemed to be listening. 

Except Zelun _didn’t_ listen when Virgo told her to hang back.

Zelun hadn’t been to Io in some time - largely, she was running small missions for Ana, Sloane, and Brother Vance, helping them and the Vanguard prepare in any way they could. Meanwhile, Virgo and Sol took the fight to Io, working together with Eris and handling the brunt of the Darkness’s force.

But Zelun had insisted. She wanted to talk to Eris herself, not just over a comm channel, and she insisted on coming.

Hell, Virgo had realized something was wrong the moment they entered the atmosphere.

Zelun swayed for a second, before steadying herself against the cockpit chair. Her knuckles were white. She took a deep breath, and Virgo looked back.

“I’m fine,” Zelun said.

Virgo bit her lip.

When they touched down it was worse. Though Zelun had her helmet on, Virgo could hear her labored breathing, and could see her tremble as she aimed down her sights. Eventually, after running several rounds of Contact, they were all sitting above the mesas.

Zelun leaned back, taking several deep breaths. Virgo could tell by the steady rise and fall of her chest.

“Hey Zelun,” Virgo said. “Are you doing okay?”

She gave a weak groan in response.

Virgo inched closer to her. “Take it easy. We were just fighting for easily 45 minutes straight, one after another. Let Pirul patch you up.”

Zelun was breathing through grit teeth. “Not… that.”

Virgo stilled. “Zelun, do you-”

Virgo didn’t finish her sentence. Zelun took her helmet off, and turned away from her, coughing up blood and mucus, red tinting with Taken black. She was wheezing, groaning like she was going to be sick, and when she finally stopped, tears of pain had welled in her eyes.

Virgo was silent, her brow raised, and Sol just blinked.

“I-I’m fine,” Zelun said, hoarsely. She gagged, bowing her head. “Nope. Not fine.”

“Okay, c’mon,” Virgo said, lifting Zelun up by one of her shoulders. Zelun was breathing in heavily, shutting her eyes tight. After they transmatted into the ship, Zelun slumped over some of the crates, tilting her head back.

“Out of orbit, please,” Zelun groaned. “Preferably in the Dreaming City.”

Virgo typed the coordinates in, her fingers a blur. “On it.” 

Sol stood by as an awkward sentinel, shifting his weight as his circuits hummed. “Do you… need a bag?”

Zelun mumbled a response. “Wouldn’t hurt.”

Virgo turned around in her seat. “Zelun, are you okay?”

“I think I’m fine,” Zelun said as Sol handed her a bucket, which she tucked under one arm. “I just… assumed it was the Pyramids influence. You know when you feel gravity just on your shoulders?”

Virgo nodded.

“Like that, but worse.” Zelun exhaled shakily, fighting back another gag. “Then I was shaky, then I was feverish, and then-” Zelun gestured into the air. “Here we are.” 

She glanced up at Virgo, her expression pained. “Sorry if I throw up in your ship.”

Though Virgo cringed at the thought, she nodded. “Don’t worry.”

There was a brief flicker of Light beside Zelun, and Pirul twisted angrily in his shell, scowling at his Guardian. “I told her to take a breather.”

“Yeah, yeah,” Zelun mocked. “I get it, I’m an idiot, you’re the wise and sage Ghost.” She managed a crooked smile. “Happy?”

Virgo let out a breathless laugh. Zelun was handling all of this… remarkably well. From what she had heard, during that interval between Shadowkeep and when Zelun met them, Zelun was stagnant, never leaving the Dreaming City and barely checking in. She was barely a blip on the Vanguard’s radar.

But now, even with her worst nightmare quite literally looming overhead? She kept pushing. She kept going. It was like the Pyramids weren’t a threat or an impossible hurdle - they were a challenge. A question to be answered.

And like every other challenge before - like Ghaul, like Crota, like Oryx, like Riven - Zelun would answer it full force.

A long time ago, before the Pyramids, Zelun had once said that she had lost her courage. That she lost the will to keep fighting. That she was sure some other Guardian would handle it.

Virgo was sure that Zelun _wanted_ to keep fighting now. She wanted to push back against the Pyramids, she didn't - hell, _couldn't -_ stand idly by anymore.

Virgo was shaken out of her thoughts by Zelun coughing into the bucket, Sol grimacing beside her as Zelun groaned.

She lifted her head a fraction. “Do you have some water?”

Virgo nodded, trying not to think about the rancid smell hitting her nose. This was the worst time to be squeamish. “I got some around here.”


End file.
